System and method for providing insurance coverage recommendations

ABSTRACT

A computer system includes a data storage device. The data storage module receives, stores, and provides access to historical entity data and insurance coverage package data. A recommendation engine comprising program instructions stored in a program memory receives current entity data, creates a current entity representative record based on the received current entity data and historical entity data, creates one or more historical entity representative records for each of a plurality of insurance coverage packages, identifies one of the historical entity representative records based on the current entity representative record, identifies one or more of the plurality of insurance coverage packages based on the identified historical entity representative record, and presents the identified one or more insurance coverage packages when executed by a computer processor. A payment device processes a payment associated with one of the identified one or more insurance coverage packages to establish an insurance contract with the current entity based on the one of the identified one or more insurance coverage packages.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/470,162 entitled “Systems And Methods ForProviding Coverage Recommendation Engine”, filed May 21, 2009, whichapplication claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.No. 61/173,249, filed on Apr. 28, 2009 and entitled “Systems and Methodsfor Providing Coverage Recommendation Engine”, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD

Embodiments relate to systems and methods to facilitate the selection ofinsurance coverages, and may provide insurance coverage recommendationsbased on current and historical entity data.

BACKGROUND

Insurance companies offer a great number of insurance coverages,particularly in the commercial sector. Consequently, it can be difficultfor an insurance agent to determine appropriate insurance coverages,limits and deductibles for a particular commercial customer. Thisdetermination is significantly more difficult for a business owner, whois typically unfamiliar with available coverages and/or the extent ofpotential exposures. Further exacerbating these difficulties is the factthat some commercial insurance coverages are suited for use together,while others are incompatible with one another.

In some scenarios, a business owner compiles a significant amount ofinformation describing the business or other entity to be insured. Thisinformation is provided to an agent, who might recommend a set ofinsurance coverages based on the information and on her professionalexperience. Aggregating and providing this information is particularlyburdensome to a business owner, and the prospect thereof may discouragethe business owner from requesting a recommendation. The typical lagtime for receiving a requested recommendation may further disincentivizethe business owner from requesting the recommendation. Moreover, thequality of the recommendation is limited by the professional experienceof the agent.

Some conventional systems may attempt to electronically determinecommercial insurance coverages for a business based on receivedinformation describing the business. These systems may operate based ona set of preconfigured rules (e.g., if revenue>$1M and business=“GeneralContractor”, then suggest Coverage Package A). Due to the vast number ofpossible insurance coverage combinations and the inherent inflexibilityof generic preconfigured rules, these systems cannot be confidentlyrelied upon to determine an appropriate set of commercial insurancecoverages.

Systems and methods are desired to facilitate the recommendation ofinsurance coverages which are appropriate for a given entity. It isdesirable for such a recommendation to be provided based on a small setof data associated with the entity. Also desired are prompt presentationof the recommendation, and/or determination of the recommendation basedon significant quantities of historical data associated with otherentities and insurance coverages.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments provide efficient recommendation of insurance coveragesfrom among a multitude of insurance coverages (e.g., such as availablecommercial insurance coverages) based on a small set of data provided byan entity to be insured and on historical data associated with otherentities and insurance coverages.

A computer system is disclosed which includes a data storage device.Functions performed by the data storage module include receiving,storing and providing access to historical entity data and insurancecoverage package data. A computer processor may execute programinstructions and retrieve the historical entity data and insurancecoverage package data from the data storage device, while a memory,coupled to the computer processor, stores program instructions forexecution by the computer processor.

A recommendation engine receives current entity data, creates a currententity representative record based on the received current entity dataand historical entity data, creates one or more historical entityrepresentative records for each of a plurality of insurance coveragepackages, identifies one of the historical entity representative recordsbased on the current entity representative record, and identifies one ormore of the plurality of insurance coverage packages based on theidentified historical entity representative record when executed by thecomputer processor.

The computer system also includes a communication device, coupled to thecomputer processor, to present the identified insurance coveragepackage, and a payment device to process a payment associated with oneof the identified one or more insurance coverage packages, the paymentto establish an insurance contract with the current entity based on theone of the identified one or more insurance coverage packages.

In some embodiments, the current entity representative record createdbased on the historical data does not necessarily describe the currententity, but provides an efficient link for matching the current entitywith a set of insurance coverages from among a multitude of insurancecoverages based on the historical data.

With these and other advantages and features that will become apparent,embodiments may be more clearly understood by reference to the followingdetailed description, the appended claims, and the drawings attachedhereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system architecture within which some embodimentsmay be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a partial functional block diagram of a computer systemprovided in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a partial functional block diagram of a computer systemprovided in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process according to some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an outward view of an interface to receive current entity dataaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a tabular representation of a current entity data recordaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a simplified representation of clusters of historical entitydata according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a tabular representation of a portion of current entityrepresentative record according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates the determination of insurance coverage packagesaccording to 10 some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a simplified representation of clusters of historical entitydata corresponding to insurance coverage packages according to someembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a tabular representation of data associating insurancecoverage packages and one or more representative historical entitiesaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is an outward view of an interface to present insurance coveragepackages according to some embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a process according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is an outward view of an interface to present coverageconfigurations according to some embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates the determination of coverage recommendationsaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 16 is an outward view of an interface to present coveragerecommendations according to some embodiments.

FIG. 17 illustrates a system architecture to provide a coveragerecommendation, quote and policy according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates system architecture 100 within which some embodimentsmay be implemented. Although the devices of architecture 100 aredepicted as communicating via dedicated connections, it should beunderstood that all illustrated devices may communicate to one or moreother illustrated devices through any number of other public and/orprivate networks, including but not limited to the Internet. Two or moreof the illustrated devices may be located remote from one another andmay communicate with one another via any known manner of network(s)and/or a dedicated connection. Moreover, each device may comprise anynumber of hardware and/or software elements suitable to provide thefunctions described herein as well as any other functions. Othertopologies may be used in conjunction with other embodiments.

According to the example of FIG. 1, data entry terminals 110 comprisedevices for providing data relating to entities and/or insurancecoverage packages. An entity may comprise a business, an individual,and/or any physical or mental construct for which insurance coverage maybe provided. Entity data may specify entity type, entity location,annual revenue, number of employees, and SIC code, but embodiments arenot limited thereto.

An insurance coverage package may comprise a set of one or moreinsurance coverages. Each of the one or more insurance coverages mayinsure against one or more risks. In the present description, aninsurance coverage defines the parameters of the risk(s) which arecovered thereby, and a configuration is a package of one or moreinsurance coverages, including specified limits and deductibles for eachof the one or more insurance coverages.

Data entry terminals 110 may be operated by an insurer, an insuranceagent, a third party data provider, a consumer, or any other suitablesource of data. Any number of data entry terminals 110 may be employedto receive entity data and insurance coverage package data according tosome embodiments. The data may be generated and received using anysystems that are or become known.

The entity data and insurance coverage package data are received andstored by data warehouse 120. Any number or type of data storage systemsmay store the data in any suitable manner according to some embodiments.Non-exhaustive examples include a relational database system, aspreadsheet, and any other data structure that is amenable to parsing.Data warehouse 120 may receive and store entity data and insurancecoverage package data which were received from sources other than dataentry terminals 110.

Recommendation engine 130 receives the entity data and insurancecoverage package data from data warehouse 120. Recommendation engine 130may identify one or more insurance coverage packages based on thereceived data and on data received from Web server 140.

In this regard, Web server 140 may receive entity data from requestorterminals 150. Requestor terminals 150 may be operated by an insuranceagent, a business owner, etc. seeking a recommendation of insurancecoverages. Requestor terminals 150 may interact with Web pages providedby Web server 140 to request a recommendation and to provide datarelating to the entity to be insured (hereinafter referred to as the“current” entity). This data may be transmitted to recommendation engine130 to determine a recommendation as described in detail below.

Briefly, recommendation engine 130 may receive the current entity data(e.g., from Web server 140), create a current entity representativerecord based on the received current entity data and historical entitydata (e.g., from data warehouse 120), create one or more historicalentity representative records for each of a plurality of insurancecoverage packages (e.g., received from data warehouse 120), identify oneof the historical entity representative records based on the currententity representative record, and identify one or more of the pluralityof insurance coverage packages based on the identified historical entityrepresentative record. Web server 140 may provide a Web page whichpresents the identified insurance coverage package as a recommendationto one of requestor terminals 150.

Recommendation engine 130 may comprise any combination of hardwareand/or processor-executable instructions stored on a tangible medium.According to some embodiments, recommendation engine 130 is a componentof data warehouse 120 or data Web server 140.

It should be noted that embodiments are not limited to the devicesillustrated in FIG. 1. Each device may include any number of disparatehardware and/or software elements, some of which may be located remotelyfrom one another. Functions attributed to one device may be performed byone or more other devices in some embodiments. The devices of system 100may communicate with one another (and with other non-illustratedelements) over any suitable communication media and protocols that areor become known.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of computer system 200 according to someembodiments. Computer system 200 may perform the functions attributedabove to recommendation engine 130. Computer system 200 includescomputer processor 201 operatively coupled to communication device 202,data storage device 204, one or more input devices 206 and one or moreoutput devices 208. Communication device 202 may facilitatecommunication with external devices. Input device(s) 206 may comprise,for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse or other pointing device, amicrophone, knob or a switch, an infra-red (IR) port, a docking station,and/or a touch screen. Input device(s) 206 may be used, for example, toenter information into computer system 200. Output device(s) 208 maycomprise, for example, a display (e.g., a display screen) a speaker,and/or a printer.

Data storage device 204 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g.,magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices, and/orsemiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devicesand Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.

Data storage device 204 stores program instructions for execution byprocessor 201. Recommendation engine 210 may comprise a set of suchinstructions, and may be executed by processor 201 to cause system 200to operate as described above with respect to recommendation engine 130of FIG. 1. This operation may initially include operation ofcommunication device 202 to retrieve, from external data storage device220, historical entity data 222 and insurance coverage package data 224.In some embodiments, and as described with respect to FIG. 1, datastorage device 220 may comprise a data warehouse.

Data storage device 204 stores other data used and/or generated duringoperation according to some embodiments. This data includes clusters ofentity data 211, packages and associated representative historicalentity records 212, configuration rules 213 and recommendation rules214. The nature and usage of this stored data according to someembodiments will be described in detail below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of computer system 300 according to someembodiments. Computer system 300 may perform the functions attributedabove to a requestor terminal 150. Computer system 300 includes computerprocessor 301, which is operatively coupled to communication device 302,data storage device 304, one or more input devices 306 and one or moreoutput devices 308. Communication device 302 may facilitatecommunication with external devices. Input device(s) 306 and outputdevice(s) 308 may comprise any devices described above with respect toinput device(s) 206 and output device(s) 208, but are not limitedthereto.

Data storage device 304 may comprise any appropriate information storagedevice, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g.,magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices, and/orsemiconductor memory devices such as RAM devices and ROM devices.

Data storage device 304 stores program instructions for execution byprocessor 300, such as Web browser 310. Web browser 310 may be executedby processor 301 to cause system 300 to submit entity data via a Webpage to Web server 140 and receive a Web page from Web server 140presenting one or more insurance coverage packages. Data storage device304 may also store other applications, device drivers and data filesusable to provide additional functionality to computer system 300.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of process 400 according to some embodiments.Various elements of system architecture 100 and/or computer system 200may execute process 400 according to some embodiments. Process 400 maybe embodied within program instructions of recommendation engine 210 ofcomputer system 200, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

Process 400 and all other processes mentioned herein may be embodied inprocessor-executable program instructions read from one or morecomputer-readable media, such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, aZip™ disk, and a magnetic tape, and then stored in a compressed,uncompiled and/or encrypted format. In some embodiments, hard-wiredcircuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, programinstructions for implementation of processes according to someembodiments. Embodiments are therefore not limited to any specificcombination of hardware and software.

Initially, at 405, current entity data is received. The current entitydata includes any data associated with an entity for which insurancecoverage recommendations are desired. The current entity data may bereceived from the current entity, from third party sources (e.g., publicrecords, Secretary of State databases), from proprietary data sources,and from any other suitable data sources.

The current entity data may include, but is not limited to, types ofinsurance coverages in which the current entity is interested (e.g.,property, general liability, workers' compensation), entity type,address, zip code, annual revenue, number of employees, and SIC code.Some examples of current entity data which may be received fromproprietary data sources include derived insurance company metrics suchas issue rate per SIC codes, Catastrophic/Terrorism threat based onlocation, appetite (Target, Acceptable, Limited, Not Acceptable) basedon SIC code and state, and business insurance scores indicating thedesirability of the entity as an insurance customer.

FIG. 5 is an outward view of interface 500 from which entity data may bereceived according to some embodiments of 405. In one example, a useroperates one of requestor terminals 150 or computer system 300 toexecute a Web browser. The user manipulates an interface of the Webbrowser to access a Web page of Web server 140 (or of computer system200) presenting interface 500.

Interface 500 includes area 510 into which the user inputs dataassociated with the current entity. The current entity is an entity forwhich insurance recommendations are desired, and need not be affiliatedwith the user. As shown, area 510 allows the user to specify coveragetype(s), business type and business location, and to submit the data forreception at 405 using Submit button 520. Coverage types are not limitedto those shown in FIG. 5, and may also or alternatively includecommercial auto, marine, professional liability, or any others that areor become known.

The data requested in area 510 may change depending upon the selectedcoverage type(s). For example, area 510 may include a field for annualrevenue if liability coverage was selected, and/or a field for number ofemployees if workers' compensation coverage was selected.

Embodiments may allow for more, less and/or different current entitydata to be specified in area 510. Some embodiments do not require theuser to complete all data fields of area 510. It may be advantageous tolimit an amount of current entity data requested by interface 500. Suchlimitations may simplify, and thereby encourage, usage of interface 500.

As mentioned above, the current entity data received at 405 may alsoinclude data retrieved from third parties and/or internally deriveddata. This data may be retrieved or derived based on the informationreceived from the user via user interface 500.

FIG. 6 is a tabular representation of current entity data 600 receivedat 405 according to some embodiments. Data 600 includes user-entereddata, data received from third parties and internally-derived data. Inthis regard, a data field (e.g., Revenue) may be populated with datareceived from the user via interface 500. However, if the user did notcomplete this data field of area 510 (or if area 510 did not includethis field), this field may be populated with data retrieved from athird party. Embodiments are not limited to the fields shown in FIG. 6,and each data field need not be populated in some embodiments.

After reception of the current entity data, clusters of historicalentity data are created at 410. In contrast to the flow of process 400,some embodiments may create the clusters prior to reception of thecurrent entity data.

The historical entity data used at 410 may include previously-storeduser-entered data, third party data, and internal data such as thatdescribed above. The historical entity data may be stored in datawarehouse 120 as multiple records such as that illustrated in FIG. 6,with each record associated with a particular entity. Each field of eachrecord need not be populated.

The historical entity data may have been previously acquired in anymanner, including those described with respect to 405 above. Forexample, an entity may have entered a coverage type and business typeduring a prior insurance shopping experience, a corresponding SIC codeor codes, number of locations, addresses, number of employees and annualrevenue may have been fetched from a third party during the shoppingexperience, and internal data may have been derived based thereon.

The historical entity data may be clustered at 410 according to anyclustering system that is or becomes known. In some embodiments, thedata is clustered by a combination of the Balanced Iterative Reducingand Clustering using Hierarchies (BIRCH) algorithm (e.g., for metricvalues) and the M-BILCOM algorithm (e.g., for metric and categoricalvalues).

FIG. 7 is a simplified representation of clusters of historical entitydata records according to some embodiments. Specifically, the historicalentity data records are clustered across many dimensions (e.g., onedimension per data field) but FIG. 7 shows only two dimensions. Eachcluster (represented by a dashed circle) may be represented by itsweighted midpoint across all its dimensions (e.g., data fields).

Next, at 415, the current entity data is matched to one of the clustersof historical entity data created at 410. Any suitable matchingalgorithm may be employed in some embodiments of 415. According to someexamples, an acceptable “similarity” distance between certain metricvalues of the records is specified (e.g., if the current entity datarecord contains number of years in business=20, match clusters wherenumber of years is +/−5 of 20 (i.e., 15-25). An ordering of categoricalvalues may also be specified (e.g., SIC code 1731 (electrical work) iscloser to 1799 (special trade contractors) than 1741 (masonry and otherstonework). Moreover, the matching algorithm may specify acceptablethresholds for appetite (e.g., T & A, but not L & N) andCatastrophic/Terrorism threat levels.

A current entity representative record is created at 420 based on thematched cluster. As noted above, a cluster may be represented by itsweighted midpoint across all its dimensions. Accordingly, the value ofeach field of the current entity representative record may equal theweighted midpoint of that field (i.e., dimension) in the matchedcluster. FIG. 8 is a tabular representation of current entityrepresentative record 800 according to the present example. As shown,the field values of the current entity representative record 800 are notidentical to the field values of the current entity data 600 of FIG. 6,although record 800 and data 600 are both associated with the currententity.

A plurality of insurance coverage packages are determined at 425. Eachof the determined insurance coverage packages may include one or moreinsurance coverages. According to some embodiments, 425 begins byidentifying customer accounts associated with previously-issuedinsurance coverages. Data representing these accounts may be stored indata warehouse 120 and/or any other suitable enterprise storage systems.

Each customer account is associated with one or more issued insurancecoverage packages, each of which includes one or more insurancecoverages. Data is collected for each customer account including issuedinsurance coverages per package and premium per insurance coverage, SICcode, business insurance score, issue rate, number of employees, numberof locations, number of buildings, etc.

The insurance coverages of each issued package are translated into astring of codes (e.g., 0071-0134-0180) for each customer account,resulting in one or more coverage code strings per customer account. Thecoverage code strings are ordered lexicographically so that, withreference to the above example, code 0071 will always appear before code0134 if an issued package includes both corresponding coverages.

Next, a number of unique instances of each coverage code string isdetermined. The coverage code strings may initially be filtered based ona market segment of interest (e.g., defined by SIC code, region, numberof employees, and/or any other data). That is, the determination of thenumber of unique instances may consider only those coverage stringsassociated with a customer account in a market segment of interest.

FIG. 9 shows analysis result 900 according to the foregoing example.Each coverage code string of analysis result 900 represents an insurancecoverage package including one or more insurance coverages. Theplurality of packages may be determined at 425 from the coverage codestrings of analysis result 900. For example, analysis result 900 ranksthe coverage code strings according to their number of unique instances.The top three coverage code strings may be used to determine threepackages at 425, with each package including the insurance coveragesspecified by the coverage codes of one of the three coverage codestrings.

Clusters of historical entities associated with each of the plurality ofpackages are created at 430. Accordingly, for each one of the pluralityof insurance coverage packages determined at 425, historical entity datais reviewed to identify historical entities to whom the insurancecoverage package was issued. Historical entity data records for each ofthe identified historical entities are used to create clusters for eachof the plurality of insurance coverage packages as described above withrespect to 410.

FIG. 10 represents clusters of the historical entity data recordsassociated with one insurance coverage package according to someembodiments. FIG. 10 shows only two dimensions, but the historicalentity data records are clustered across many dimensions as describedabove. Similar clusters are created for each other insurance coveragepackage determined at 425.

A representative record is created at 435 for each cluster of historicalentities associated with each of the plurality of determined insurancecoverage packages. The record may include a coverage string fieldrepresenting an insurance coverage package and fields representing theweighted midpoint of each dimension of a cluster of historical entitieswho hold the insurance coverage package. With reference to the exampleof FIG. 10, three representative records would be created, with eachrecord having a same coverage string field and with the contents of theother fields specifying the weighted midpoints of each dimension of oneof the particular three clusters.

FIG. 11 provides an example of representative records 1100 createdaccording to some embodiments of 435. Each record of records 1100 isassociated with an insurance coverage package specified by its CoverageCode String field. The remaining fields describe a representativehistorical entity to which the insurance coverage package was issued. Asmentioned above, multiple records of representative records 1100 may beassociated with a same insurance coverage package, since severalclusters of historical entity data may have been created for thatinsurance coverage package at 430.

Next, at 440, the current entity representative record created at 420 ismatched to one or more of the representative records created at 435. Thematching may proceed as described at 415 or using any other suitablealgorithm for determining a match between multi-dimensional datarecords.

One or more packages are determined at 445 based on the matchedrepresentative records. For example, it may be determined at 440 thatthe current entity representative record matches representative records1110 and 1120 of FIG. 11. These representative records are associatedwith coverage code strings “0071-0134-0180” and “0071-0086-0169-0180”,respectively. Accordingly, a first package is determined at 445including three insurance coverages corresponding to the coverage codes“0071-0134-0180”, and a second package is determined including fourinsurance coverages corresponding to the coverage codes“0071-0086-0169-0180”.

The determined packages are presented at 450. FIG. 12 shows interface500 updated to present packages 1200 according to some embodiments. FIG.12 shows three determined packages, each including more than oneinsurance coverage. The order in which the packages are presented may bebased on a similarity of their corresponding historical representativerecord to the current entity representative record, a total potentialpremium of their constituent coverages, and/or on other suitablefactors.

Embodiments of the foregoing may therefore provide efficientrecommendation of appropriate insurance coverage packages for a givenentity.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of process 1300 to present insurance coveragerecommendations according to some embodiments. Various elements ofsystem architecture 100 and/or computer system 200 may execute process1300 according to some embodiments. Process 1300 may be embodied withinprogram instructions of recommendation engine 210 of computer system200, but embodiments are not limited thereto.

Initially, at 1305, a selection of a presented package of insurancecoverages is received. Continuing with the above example, a user mayoperate interface 500 to select one of presented packages 1200. In thisregard, process 1300 may proceed directly after process 400 in someembodiments.

Coverage configurations of the selected package are determined at 1310based on configuration rules. A coverage configuration specifies limitsand deductibles for the insurance coverages within a package. Accordingto some embodiments, configuration rules such as configuration rules 213may take the insurance coverages of the selected package as input andcreate multiple coverage configurations at 1310 using rules such as:

1) If the coverages of the selected package do not contain “stretches”(i.e., added coverage limits and coverage), designate the selectedpackage as the basic configuration (e.g., silver), but add two moreconfigurations (e.g., gold, platinum) by adding basic stretch andsuper-stretch, respectively, for the SIC code of the matchingrepresentative record;

2) If the coverages of the selected package contain stretch, addumbrella coverage and any additional lines of business coverage (e.g.,selected package includes property and general liability coverages, addworkers compensation and commercial auto coverages); and

3) If the user selected coverage string contains coverages from alllines of business and umbrella coverage, then create threeconfigurations respectively associated with low, medium, and high limitsand low, medium, and high deductibles.

The determined coverage configurations are presented at 1315. FIG. 14illustrates user interface 500 with area 1400 to present Silver, Goldand Platinum coverage configurations. As shown, the user may manipulateelements of area 1400 to select a coverage or modify a coverage (i.e.,change limits and deductibles). Such a manipulation is detected at 1320,and triggers the presentation of one or more other insurance coveragesat 1325.

The one or more other insurance coverages are presented based on theselected insurance coverage package. The one or more other insurancecoverages may be presented as further coverage recommendations, and maybe identified based on historical data. According to some embodiments,Market Basket Analysis is used at 1325 to identify one or more otherinsurance coverages that have been bought along with the selectedcoverages.

Generally, Market Basket Analysis refers to the identification of itemsthat occur together in a given event or record. The output of MarketBasket Analysis is a set of discovery rules based on frequency counts ofthe number of times items occur alone and in combination in historicaldata. The rules indicate an association between two or more items.

Market basket rules may provide four useful metrics for theidentification of other insurance coverages at 1325: Confidence factor;Level of support; Lift; Expected confidence. Confidence factor equalsthe percentage of cases in which a consequent appears given that theantecedent has occurred, and defines the strength of an associationbetween the consequent and the antecedent. Level of support indicateshow frequently the combination occurs in the market basket (i.e., thehistorical data). Expected confidence is equal to the number ofconsequent transactions divided by the total number of transactions.Lift is equal to the confidence factor divided by the expectedconfidence. Lift is a factor by which the likelihood of consequentincreases given an antecedent.

FIG. 15 is a tabular representation of data for providing an example ofMarket Basket Analysis used in some embodiments of 1325. According tothe example, if a user selects coverage “BPP without wind exclusion”through area 1400 of interface 500 (e.g., to learn about the coverage orto adjust its limits or deductibles), a recommendation rule based on theFIG. 15 data will identify insurance coverage 73 and insurance coverage70 at 1325. The recommendation rules can be implemented as rules (e.g.,recommendation rules 214 of system 200) run in a rule engine or ascondition statements in any standard programming language.

FIG. 16 illustrates area 1600 of interface 500 for presenting the one ormore other insurance coverages at 1325. According to some embodiments,the presentation of the coverages in area 1600 (e.g., listing order,font size) is based on their respective Levels of support.

At 1330, it is determined whether a quote has been requested for theconfiguration shown in area 1400. If the user has not selected Quotebutton 1610, flow returns to 1320 to allow the user to change or modifya displayed coverage. Flow continues as described above to present otherinsurance coverages in area 1600 in response to user modification ofarea 1400 until Quote button 1610 is selected.

Once quote button 1610 is selected, any additional information needed togenerate the quote is gathered at 1335. Gathering the neededinformation, if any, may comprise querying the user via subsequent Webpages, telephoning the user, accessing third party data, etc.Thereafter, at 1340, a quote is generated and presented to the user. Thequote may be generated automatically or may require intervention of anunderwriter or other personnel.

According to some embodiments, the user may also be presented with otherpolicy-related benefits and services once a configuration is selectedfor quoting. These items may include rewards, discounts, billingoptions, etc., and their presentation may be based on the particularselected configuration.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating system architecture 1700 to provide aquote and a policy according to some embodiments. Each element ofarchitecture 1700 may be implemented using one or more hardware devices,and two or more elements may be implemented using a single hardwaredevice. Architecture 1700 includes data warehouse 120, recommendation130, Web server 140 and requestor terminals 150, each of which mayperform functions such as those attributed thereto in the abovedescription.

According to some embodiments, recommendation engine 130 transmits anindication to quoting engine 1710 once quote button 1610 of FIG. 1600 isselected. The indication may include an insurance configuration that wasselected (and perhaps modified) by a requestor operating one ofterminals 150 as described above. Quoting engine 1710 transmitsinformation relating to the selected configuration and the entity to beinsured to rating engine 1720 and receives rating information in returnaccording to known protocols.

Quoting engine 1710 thereafter transmits underwriting information tounderwriting server 1730. Underwriting server 1730 includes underwritingapplication 1732 and underwriting database 1734. Underwriter terminals1740 may be operated by underwriting personnel to perform underwritingtasks based on the underwriting information and using underwritingapplication 1730 and database 1734. As mentioned above, underwritingtasks may include acquisition of additional information that may behelpful in performing the underwriting tasks.

Underwriting server 1730 may transmit the results of the underwritingtasks to quoting engine 1710 and/or to payment/policy administrationengine 1750. Based on the results, rating engine 1720 (and/or quotingengine 1710) formulates a quote (e.g., according to known processes) andtransmits the quote to the user via Web server 140 or anothercommunication mode (e.g., another Web server, electronic mail, post,etc.). Once the user indicates acceptance of the quote, payment/policyadministration engine 1750 issues one or more corresponding policies.

In addition to the quote, the user may also receive forms forestablishing a contract for the selected configuration as well as forprocessing premium payments. Accordingly, payment/policy administrationengine 1750 may also debit a bank account of the insured entity's andissue policy forms to the insured entity. Processing the payment isintended to establish an insurance contract with the entity based on theselected configuration.

It should be noted that any of quoting engine 1710, rating engine 1720,underwriting engine 1730 and payment/policy administration engine 1750may be in direct communication with recommendation engine 130, datawarehouse 120, or any other system for accessing data, rules, forms,etc. needed to perform their respective tasks.

The embodiments described herein are solely for the purpose ofillustration. Those in the art will recognize that other embodiments maybe practiced with modifications and alterations limited only by theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system for providing a recommendationof at least one insurance coverage package covering an entity from amonga plurality of insurance coverage packages, the system comprising: oneor more data storage devices storing presented packages of insurancecoverages; one or more computer processors in communication with the oneor more data storage devices; a memory in communication with the one ormore computer processors and storing program instructions, the one ormore computer processors operative with the program instructions to:receive a selection of one of the presented packages of insurancecoverages; determine additional coverage configurations based on theselected presented package of insurance coverages, wherein the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages and the additional coverageconfigurations together comprise determined coverage configurations;provide data for a display for presentation including the determinedcoverage configurations, the display being configured to a modificationof at least one term of a selected one of the determined coverageconfigurations or a selection to receive a quotation for one of thedetermined coverage configurations; determine, responsive to a receiptof an indication of modification of at least one term of one of thedetermined coverage configurations, one or more other insurance coveragepackages and provide data for a display for presentation the one or moreother insurance coverage packages, the display being further configuredto allow a selection to receive a quotation for a selected one of theone or more other insurance coverage packages; and responsive to areceipt of a selection to receive a quotation for a selected one of thedetermined coverage confirmations or a selected one of the one or moreother insurance coverage packages: generate a quotation for the selectedone of the determined coverage configurations or the selected one of theone or more other insurance coverage packages; and provide data for adisplay for presentation including the quotation for the selected one ofthe determined coverage confirmations or the selected one of the one ormore other insurance coverage packages.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the one or more data storage devices further store insurancecoverage configuration rules and wherein the one or more computerprocessors being operative with the program instructions to determinethe additional coverage configurations based on the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages comprises the one or more computerprocessors being operative with the program instructions to determinethe additional coverage configurations based on the insurance coverageconfiguration rules.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the insurancecoverage configuration rules are operative with the one or more computerprocessors and the program instructions to: determine whether theselected presented package of insurance coverages includes stretchpackages; determine, responsive to a determination that the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages does not include stretchpackages, one or more stretch packages based on the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages, wherein the one or more stretch packagescomprise additional coverage configurations that provide for one or bothof additional coverage and coverage limits over the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages; and determine, responsive to adetermination that the selected presented package of insurance coveragesincludes stretch packages, one or both of umbrella coverage packages andadditional line of business coverage packages for the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages, wherein the umbrella coverage packagescomprise additional coverage configurations that provide for one or bothof coverage in addition to or in excess of coverage limits of theselected presented package of insurance coverages and the additionalline of business coverage packages comprise additional coverageconfigurations that provide a different type of coverage than providedby the selected presented package of insurance coverages.
 4. The systemof claim 3, wherein the insurance coverage configuration rules beingoperative with the one or more computer processors and the programinstructions to determine the one or more stretch packages based on theselected presented package of insurance coverages comprises theinsurance coverage configuration rules being operative with the one ormore computer processors and the program instructions to: determine astretch package that provides for additional coverage and coveragelimits over the selected presented package of insurance coverages, basedon a classification code of a matching representative historicalinsurance purchase record associated with the selected presented packageof insurance coverages; and determine a super-stretch package thatprovides for additional coverage and coverage limits over the stretchpackage, based on the classification code of the matching representativehistorical insurance purchase record associated with the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages; wherein the stretch packageand the super-stretch package comprise the additional coverageconfigurations.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the insurance coverageconfiguration rules are operative with the one or more computerprocessors and the program instructions to: determine whether theselected presented package of insurance coverages includes stretchpackages, umbrella coverage packages, and additional line of businesscoverage packages; and determine, responsive to a determination that theselected presented package of insurance coverages includes stretchpackages, umbrella coverage, and additional line of business coveragepackages, additional coverage configurations including coverage packageswith one or both of different coverage limits or different deductiblesthan the selected presented package of insurance coverages.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the one or more data storage devices furtherstore historical insurance coverage package data and wherein the one ormore processors being operative with the program instructions todetermine the one or more other insurance coverage packages based on theselected presented package of insurance coverages comprises the one ormore processors being operative with the program instructions todetermine the one or more other insurance coverage packages based on amarket basket analysis of the selected presented package of insurancecoverages and the historical insurance coverage package data.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the market basket analysis determines theadditional coverage configurations based on a confidence factor, a levelof support factor, a lift factor, and an expected confidence factorbetween the selected presented package of insurance coverages andhistorical insurance coverage packages.
 8. A computer-implemented methodfor providing a recommendation of at least one insurance coveragepackage covering an entity from among a plurality of insurance coveragepackages, the method comprising: receiving, by one or more computerprocessors, entity data; receiving, storing, and providing access to oneor more data storage devices storing presented packages of insurancecoverages; receiving, by the one or more computer processors, aselection of one of the presented packages of insurance coverages;determining, by the one or more computer processors, additional coverageconfigurations based on the selected presented package of insurancecoverages, wherein the selected presented package of insurance coveragesand the additional coverage configurations together comprise determinedcoverage configurations; providing, by the one or more computerprocessors, data for a display for presentation including the determinedcoverage configurations, the display being configured to allow amodification of at least one term of one of the determined coverageconfigurations, select one of the determined coverage configurations, orselect to receive a quotation for a selected one of the determinedcoverage configurations; provide, by the one or more computer processorsand responsive to a receipt of an indication of modification of at leastone term of one of the determined coverage configurations, data for adisplay for presentation the one or more other insurance coveragepackages, the display being further configured to allow a modificationof at least one term of one of the one or more other coverage packages,select one of the one or more other insurance coverage packages, orselect to receive a quotation for a selected one of the one or moreother insurance coverage packages; responsive to a receipt, by the oneor more computer processors, of a selection to receive a quotation for aselected one of the determined coverage confirmations or a selected oneof the one or more other insurance coverage packages: generating, by theone or more computer processors, a quotation for the selected one of thedetermined coverage confirmations or the selected one of the one or moreother insurance coverage packages; and providing, by the one or morecomputer processors, data for a display for presentation including thequotation for the selected one of the determined coverage confirmationsor the selected one of the one or more other insurance coveragepackages.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving,storing, and providing access to, by the one or more data storagedevices, insurance coverage configuration rules and wherein determiningadditional coverage configurations based on the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages comprises determining the additionalcoverage configurations based on the insurance coverage configurationrules.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein determining the additionalcoverage configurations based on the insurance coverage configurationrules comprises: determining, by the one or more computer processors,whether the selected presented package of insurance coverages includesstretch packages; determining, by the one or more computer processorsand responsive to a determination that the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages does not include stretch packages, one or morestretch packages based on the selected presented package of insurancecoverages, wherein the one or more stretch packages comprise additionalcoverage configurations that provide for one or both of additionalcoverage and coverage limits over the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages; and determining, by the one or more computerprocessors and responsive to a determination that the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages includes stretch packages, one or both ofumbrella coverage packages and additional line of business coveragepackages for the selected presented package of insurance coverages,wherein the umbrella coverage packages comprise additional coverageconfigurations that provide for one or both of coverage in addition toor in excess of the coverage limits of the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages and the additional line of business coveragepackages comprise additional coverage configurations that provide adifferent type of coverage than provided by the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereindetermining one or more stretch packages based on the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages comprises: determining a stretch packagethat provides for additional coverage and coverage limits over theselected presented package of insurance coverages, based on aclassification code of a matching representative historical insurancepurchase record associated with the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages; and determining a super-stretch package thatprovides for additional coverage and coverage limits over the stretchpackage, based on the classification code of the matching representativehistorical insurance purchase record associated with the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages; wherein the stretch packageand the super-stretch package comprise the additional coverageconfigurations.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein determining theadditional coverage configurations based on the insurance coverageconfiguration rules comprises: determining, by the one or more computerprocessors, whether the selected presented package of insurancecoverages includes stretch packages, umbrella coverage packages, andadditional line of business coverage packages; and determining, by theone or more computer processors and responsive to a determination thatthe selected presented package of insurance coverages includes stretchpackages, umbrella coverage, and additional line of business coveragepackages, additional coverage configurations including coverage packageswith one or both of different coverage limits or different deductiblesthan the selected presented package of insurance coverages.
 13. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising receiving, storing, and providingaccess to, by the one or more data storage devices, historical insurancecoverage package data; and wherein determining the one or more otherinsurance coverage packages based on the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages comprises determining the one or more otherinsurance coverage packages based on a market basket analysis of theselected presented package of insurance coverages and the historicalinsurance coverage package data.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereindetermining the additional coverage configurations based on the marketbasket analysis comprises determining the additional coverageconfigurations based on a confidence factor, a level of support factor,a lift factor, and an expected confidence factor between the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages and historical insurancecoverage packages.
 15. A computer system for providing a recommendationof at least one insurance coverage package covering an entity from amonga plurality of insurance coverage packages, the system comprising: oneor more data storage devices storing presented packages of insurancecoverages; one or more computer processors in communication with the oneor more data storage devices; a memory in communication with the one ormore computer processors and storing program instructions, the one ormore computer processors operative with the program instructions to:receive a selection of one of the presented packages of insurancecoverages; determine whether the selected presented package of insurancecoverages includes stretch packages, umbrella coverage packages, andline of business coverage packages; responsive to a determination thatthe selected presented package of insurance coverages does not includethe stretch packages, the umbrella coverage packages, and the line ofbusiness coverage packages, determine the one or more of the stretchpackages, the umbrella coverage packages, and line of business coveragepackages not included in the selected presented package of insurancecoverages, wherein the selected presented package of insurancecoverages, the stretch packages, the umbrella coverage packages, and theline of business coverage packages comprise determined coverageconfigurations; providing data for a display for presentation includingthe determined coverage configurations, the display being configured toallow a selection to receive a quotation for one of the determinedcoverage configurations; responsive to a receipt of a selection toreceive a quotation for a selected one of the determined coverageconfirmations: generate a quotation for the selected one of thedetermined coverage confirmations or the selected one of the one or moreother insurance coverage packages; and providing data for a display forpresentation including the quotation for the selected one of thedetermined coverage confirmations or the selected one of the one or moreother insurance coverage packages.
 16. The system of claim 15, whereinthe one or more computer processors are further operative with theprogram instructions to process a payment received by a payment deviceassociated with the selected one of the determined coverageconfigurations, wherein processing the payment establishes an insurancecontract with the entity.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the one ormore computer processors being operative with the program instructionsto determine the one or more stretch packages based on the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages comprises the one or morecomputer processors being operative with the program instructions to:determine a stretch package that provides for additional coverage andcoverage limits over the selected presented package of insurancecoverages, based on a classification code of a matching representativehistorical insurance purchase record associated with the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages; and determine a super-stretchpackage that provides for additional coverage and coverage limits overthe stretch package, based on the classification code of the matchingrepresentative historical insurance purchase record associated with theselected presented package of insurance coverages; wherein the stretchpackage and the super-stretch package comprise additional coverageconfigurations.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more datastorage devices further store historical insurance coverage packagedata; wherein the display presented is further configured to allow amodification of at least one term of a selected one of the determinedcoverage configurations; and wherein the one or more computer processorsare further operative with the program instructions to: determine,responsive to a receipt of an indication of modification of at least oneterm of one of the determined coverage configurations, one or more otherinsurance coverage packages based a market basket analysis of theselected presented package of insurance coverages and the historicalinsurance coverage package data, and provide data for a display forpresentation the one or more other insurance coverage packages, thedisplay being further configured to allow a selection to receive aquotation for a selected one of the one or more other insurance coveragepackages.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more computerprocessors being operative with the program instructions to determinethe one or more of the stretch packages, the umbrella coverage packages,and line of business coverage packages not included in the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages comprises the one or morecomputer processors being operative with the program instructions to:determine, responsive to a determination that the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages does not include stretch packages, one ormore stretch packages based on the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages, wherein the one or more stretch packages compriseadditional coverage configurations that provide for one or both ofadditional coverage and coverage limits over the selected presentedpackage of insurance coverages; determine, responsive to a determinationthat the selected presented package of insurance coverages does notinclude umbrella coverage packages, one or more umbrella coveragepackages for the selected presented package of insurance coverages,wherein the umbrella coverage packages comprise additional coverageconfigurations that provide for one or both of coverage in addition toor in excess of the coverage limits of the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages. determine, responsive to a determination that theselected presented package of insurance coverages does not includeadditional line of business coverage packages, one or more additionalline of business coverage packages for the selected presented package ofinsurance coverages, wherein the one or more additional line of businesscoverage packages comprise additional coverage configurations thatprovide for coverage in addition to or in excess of the coverage limitsover the selected presented package of insurance coverages.
 20. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the one or more data storage devices furtherstore insurance coverage configuration rules; and wherein the one ormore computer processors are further operative with the programinstructions to: responsive to a determination that the selectedpresented package of insurance coverages includes stretch packages,umbrella coverage, and additional line of business coverage packages,determine additional coverage configurations including coverage packageswith one or both of different coverage limits or different deductiblesthan the selected presented package of insurance coverages based on theinsurance coverage configuration rules; wherein the determined coverageconfigurations further include the additional coverage configurations.